This invention relates to a man-overboard retrieval device, that is, a device for rescuing from the water a person who has fallen overboard from a boat or ship.
When a person falls overboard from a vessel, the effects of shock and hypothermia, particularly in cold water, combined with the weight of waterlogged clothing, and perhaps injury, often make it impossible for him to climb back onto the vessel unaided even where devices such as ladders extending below the water-line are available. Moreover, those remaining on the vessel may find it difficult, if not impossible, to haul the person out of the water, particularly in severe weather conditions.
The conventional lifebelt carried on a line may be capable of giving support to the person in the water, but is generally of little help in the more difficult task of hauling the man inboard from the water. Sometimes, therefore, attempts are made to secure a rope around the person in the water or to gather him in a headsail to enable him to be hauled or rolled up the boat's side to safety, but this, in itself, may necessitate a rescuer entering the water, adding to the risks involved. Such methods are difficult enough in themselves but are aggravated when the vessel concerned is a yacht under sail and it is necessary to manoeuvre it head-to-wind, next to the person in the water, while the rescue attempts are made.